Dune: Awakening has had a full single-player mode since Update 1.5 on 17 September 2026, and it changes the first decision a new player makes. You can now play the whole game solo, on PC or console, with dehydration, sun exposure and heat buildup among the survival settings you can tune. Below: that choice first, then the five-step water ladder in the order the quests unlock it, then whether the Deep Desert is still a trap. I checked every number against Funcom’s Update 1.5 announcement, the official patch notes and the community wiki’s game-data pages, and where nothing published backs a figure, I say so.
Quick Start: Your First Session, in Order
Do these eight things in this order and you will have a working water supply before you cross the Vermillius Gap, which is where the first serious sandworm risk starts. The order follows the game’s opening journeys, The Fall of the Proteus and then A New Beginning.
- Pick your mode before you create a character. Single-player characters stay in single-player for good (details in the next section).
- Set your survival settings. Choose one of three presets or customise, and change it later if it is wrong: Funcom says settings can be adjusted at any time during play.
- Sip dew from Primrose when the hydration meter drops. It only refills the first segment, so treat it as an emergency drink.
- Finish Getting Equipped, The Attitude of the Knife and Shelter and Shields. The last one has you build a sealed base around a Sub-Fief Console and fuel the generator that powers its storm shield.
- Do Water From Blood. You craft a Blood Extractor and a Small Blood Sack, take 1,000 mL of blood from Scavengers and build a Blood Purifier.
- Research and craft a Literjon (3 Intel) so you can carry water.
- Finish A New Beginning and cross the gap. Across the Gap has you refuel the sandbike, and the Moving On journey that follows unlocks Dew Reaper Mk2 research.
- Do The First Trial of Aql and craft your Scavenger Stillsuit.
Verified on Update 1.5.3.7 (the 9 October 2026 hotfix). A public test build, 1.5.15.0, is already running, so numbers can move. We also use this first-hours approach in our Where Winds Meet beginner guide, which maps that game’s first 10 hours the same way.
Solo, Official Server or Self-Hosted: Pick Before You Create a Character
Single-player is the right start for most new players, because it removes the two things that made the launch version hard to learn: other players and the weekly Deep Desert wipe. It is the whole game (all of Arrakis, every story mission and the Book One finale) on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Funcom lists the PC version as Steam Deck Verified.
| Mode | Best for | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Single-player | Learning at your own pace, no PvP, no weekly wipe | The Deep Desert map never resets and your buildings are never wiped. The Landsraad simulates rival guilds and the Exchange is a vendor. The character cannot leave single-player. |
| Official server | Playing with others without running anything | Hagga Basin is PvE. The Deep Desert has a PvE and a PvP instance on every world, and the weekly Coriolis storm destroys everything in it. Characters can move to private or self-hosted servers, never back. |
| Self-hosted (PC) | Friends or a community with your own rules | Free, up to 40 players, you supply the machine, and Funcom still calls it experimental. You can make Hagga Basin PvP or PvE. |
Funcom’s notes say single-player has “three preset difficulty levels” and do not name them or publish their multipliers. Some third-party guides call them Relaxed, Survival and Challenging. I could not confirm those names or what each preset changes, so read the in-game screen. What is confirmed is the custom list: harvest and XP multipliers, item durability, base decay, death drops, sandstorms, sandworm and Coriolis auto-spawn, and, per the June developer post, dehydration, sun exposure and heat buildup.
Which mode?
- Playing with friends: self-hosted server, or an official server as a group.
- No PvP at all: single-player, or an official server, where Hagga Basin is fully PvE and the Deep Desert has a PvE instance.
- First survival game ever: single-player on a preset. Change only the one setting that frustrates you.
- You want the weekly wipe loop and PvP yields: an official PvP instance, after reading the Deep Desert section below.
How Many People Still Play Dune: Awakening?
About 13,000 on Steam when I checked on 14 October 2026, up from a monthly average of 4,459 in August 2026, the lowest of any month since launch. The all-time peak is 189,126 (June 2025), and Funcom’s own launch press release says “over 189,000” in the first weekend. All figures here come from SteamCharts, which counts Steam only.
The jump is sharp. SteamCharts’ highest logged reading was 4,925 on 16 September, 10,163 on 17 September (the day Update 1.5 shipped) and 23,250 on 27 September. The 30 days to 14 October averaged 10,664. That is not proof the solo mode did it: the update also launched the console versions, made PvE-only play possible and rebuilt the Landsraad, and PC Gamer reported a half-price sale running until 1 October. Steam user reviews, for context, are 71.5% positive across 80,619 (Mostly Positive), and 74% of the latest 100 (12 to 14 October). The price was $49.99 when I looked.
Water Discipline: The Five-Step Water Ladder
Water in Dune: Awakening is a ladder of five tools, each behind a different gate: dew you drink for free, blood you purify at base, a Literjon that carries it, a stillsuit that recycles what you lose, and a Dew Reaper that harvests it. Three of the five cost Intel, the research currency, and every rung has a catch.
The reason to climb it is simple. Your hydration meter drains constantly and faster in direct sun, while sprinting, fighting or using power tools, according to KeenGamer’s launch-week guide, and the wiki’s Status Effects page adds sunstroke, which raises how fast you lose water and knocks you out when its meter fills. In Funcom’s closed-beta statistics, dehydration caused 22% of player deaths, behind NPCs (58%) and sandworms (27%). Those three add up to 107%, so the categories must overlap, and Funcom does not say how. Water is also an ingredient: PC Gamer notes early iron ingots use it, and the Dew Reaper Mk4 recipe lists 225 mL of water.
| Step | Gate | Cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Dew from Primrose | None | Free | Refills only the first meter segment |
| 2. Blood Purifier | Water From Blood journey; 1 Intel each for the extractor kit and the purifier | Extractor 20 Salvaged Metal; Small Blood Sack 25 Plant Fiber + 5 Salvaged Metal; purifier 70 Salvaged Metal | Blood to drinking water at base |
| 3. Literjon | 3 Intel | 14 Copper Ingot + 2 Micro-Sandwich Fabric | Carries 1,000 mL |
| 4. Scavenger Stillsuit | The First Trial of Aql; 0 Intel | Body: 8 Plant Fiber + 3 Micro-Sandwich Fabric | A catchpocket that refills as you lose water |
| 5. Dew Reaper Mk2 | Moving On journey; 5 Intel | 6 Iron Ingot + 7 EMF Generator + 4 Silicone Block | Harvests dew into a Literjon or tank |
Step 1, dew, is an emergency sip. PC Gamer’s water guide says it fills the meter only to the end of its first segment. The wiki’s Dew Harvesting page says harvesting works only from dusk to dawn: yield climbs from 0% at 18:00 to 75% at midnight, reaches 100% by 02:00, holds until 05:30 and drops to 0% at dawn. A full night is about 15 real minutes on its table, and the 100% window is 4.4 of them. I could not confirm that the by-hand sip follows the same schedule.
Step 2, blood, is the first reliable supply, and the game forces it on you. The Water From Blood journey asks for 1,000 mL of blood from Scavengers with the Improvised Blood Extractor. The wiki lists extraction efficiency of 10% for that tool, then 20%, 42% and 60% for Mk2, Mk4 and Mk6. Blood Sacks hold 3,000 mL (small) up to 24,000 mL (massive). The Blood Purifier takes up to 6,000 mL of blood, holds up to 1,000 mL of water and processes at 5 mL per second; the Improved Purifier takes 24,000 mL at 8 mL per second. It needs power from a base generator. Raw blood works in a pinch, but the Small Blood Sack’s own description warns that maximum health suffers.
What no source I found publishes is the blood-to-water ratio. One third-party guide says about 0.4, and I could not confirm it, so treat purifier output as unknown until you test it yourself.
Step 3, the Literjon, is what makes dew and base water portable. The standard Literjon holds 1,000 mL. The Hajra Literjon Mk1 holds 1,500 mL, and the wiki lists its schematic at the Griffin’s Reach Tradepost vendor (recipe: 16 Copper Ingot, 3 Micro-Sandwich Fabric, 5 Spice-infused Copper Dust). Literjons also catch water from drinking points and from Dew Reapers.
Step 4, the stillsuit, costs 0 Intel to research. The catchpocket fills as your water level goes down, a second bar builds beside the hydration bar, and you drink from it, per PC Gamer. The trade is armour: stillsuits give less than other gear. The wiki shows The First Trial of Aql as available after Water From Blood, or at once if your Research menu is already unlocked, but the journey’s own text says to pursue it after you reach the Vermillius Gap.
Step 5, the Dew Reaper, is gated by the gap crossing. Moving On has you drive north to the Vermillius Gap, research the Advanced Construction Kit, build an Advanced Sub-Fief Console and abandon your Hagga Basin South base. Its text suggests the shortest, flattest route, just northeast of Griffin’s Reach Tradepost, to dodge the worm. The Mk2’s recipe needs Iron-tier materials, and the tool uses power every time you reap.
The Windtrap is not a first-hours tool. The Windtrap is a Steel-tier unlock (5 Intel) costing 90 Steel Bar, 30 Silicone Block and 20 Calibrated Servok, drawing 75 power and burning a Makeshift Filter for 3 hours or a Standard Filter for 8.
Fail-safe if you are already past the gap with nothing to drink: travel at night, which KeenGamer says slows dehydration, and keep out of direct sun, where the drain is faster. Drink from the stillsuit’s catchpocket before you touch raw blood, because blood costs maximum health. If a Primrose patch is on your route, sip it: a first segment is better than none.
| Player type | Water plan | Skip for now |
|---|---|---|
| New | Climb in order. Fill the Literjon at base before every trip. Leave dehydration on the preset until it is what makes you quit. | Windtrap, Hajra upgrades |
| Casual | Reap dew in the 02:00 to 05:30 window, when yield is 100%, instead of draining Scavengers by hand. | Mk4 and Mk6 tools |
| Hardcore | Upgrade extractor and purifier first: Mk4 is 42% versus 10%, and the Improved Purifier moves 8 mL/s versus 5. | Nothing, but test the ratio |
| Completionist | The wiki’s Water Discipline research tab lists 30 items costing 538 Intel in total (my sum), up to 40 Intel each at Plastanium tier. Budget across the whole tab. | Nothing; Intel comes from level-ups to 125 and outpost and Deep Desert packs |
The Open-Sand Rule: What Sandworms React To
Sandworms react to noise and vibration, not to being seen, so the safe rule is to stay off open sand unless you must cross it. The wiki’s Sandworms page lists what draws them: walking on open sand, ground vehicles, aircraft, any Holtzman tech such as a shield or suspensor, tools like the cutteray, combat and thumpers. KeenGamer’s guide gives the same warning for shields.
A small worm breaches once as a warning when your wormsign meter fills, submerges for a short grace period and then charges. Move to rocky ground or into a vehicle during that gap. If a worm eats you, you lose everything you carry except the Vehicle Backup Tool and quest items, and the first death gets a mercy respawn with a sandbike. Hagga Basin has around 10 small worms; the Deep Desert has up to 50 plus the larger Grandfather worms. In single-player you can switch sandworms off, and Update 1.5 cut the death durability penalty from 5% to 2%.
What Update 1.5 Removed From Your Worry List
Update 1.5 deleted most of the early-game ways to lose progress, and each item comes from Funcom’s announcement.
- Hagga Basin is fully PvE, shipwrecks included.
- The Base Reconstruction Tool stores three base snapshots you can rebuild, even on another world.
- Base upkeep taxes are gone and overdue taxes were forgiven.
- Destroyed vehicles can be recovered for up to 30 days for a Solari fee.
- Spice Melange no longer appears in the build cost of several advanced fabricators, which puts the endgame in reach of solo players.
Is the Deep Desert Still a Trap?
It depends on the mode: in single-player it is not a trap any more, on an official PvE instance it is safe from players but not from the weekly wipe, and only the PvP instance still earns the reputation. The wiki’s Deep Desert page puts it beyond the Shield Wall, and the patch notes say single-player has it “fully available with all its content and challenges”.
| Mode | What happens | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Single-player | The map never resets and buildings are never wiped. The Coriolis storm stays as weather but no longer kills you instantly. | Not a trap. Worms and heat still apply. |
| Official, PvE instance | Fully PvE (added in patch 1.3.20.0, 28 April 2026). The weekly Coriolis storm destroys everything in the Deep Desert. | Safe from players. Build nothing you cannot lose. |
| Official, PvP instance | PvP everywhere except the Shield Wall along rows A and B. Mining and spice yield 2.5x, in the PvP zone only. | Only with a plan and gear you can lose. |
Three details change the plan. The Shield Wall points of interest in rows A and B are fixed and survive the storm. Building in the Deep Desert costs half. And the wiki says the weekly Coriolis storm resets the map, with its Coriolis page placing the in-game announcement on Monday and the apex time by server region, while KeenGamer’s launch-week guide says Tuesday. Trust the in-game countdown, not either of us.
On gear, Method’s solo guide suggested around level 100, full Mk5 armour and a Scout Ornithopter, but it is from June 2025, before the PvE instance existed, so treat it as a ceiling, not a requirement. The wiki lists the Deep Desert as publicly accessible with no level gate. Before your first trip:
- Choose the PvE instance, which is selectable when you enter from the Overland Map.
- Carry only what you can lose, because a worm death drops everything you carry.
- Remember that vehicles and Holtzman shields also draw worms.
- If you build there on a multiplayer server, assume it will be gone at the next storm.
If the idea of going out, looting and getting back alive is what you came for, our ARC Raiders beginner’s guide covers a game built entirely around that loop.
Where to Go Next
This hub covers your first sessions: mode choice, water and the Deep Desert’s risks. Deeper guides will link back here. If Dune is your first survival-crafting game, our best survival crafting games ranking shows what it is competing with.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dune: Awakening worth buying now?
Buy it if you want a story-driven base-builder and can live with a research-gated grind. Single-player removes the biggest launch complaint, forced PvP and server dependence, but it does not shorten the climb: the water tab alone is 538 Intel. For how it compares, see our 10 best survival games of 2026.
Can I play single-player with friends?
No. Single-player characters stay in single-player. For friends, use a self-hosted server (up to 40 players) or an official or private server.
Can I move my old multiplayer character into single-player?
No. Funcom says you must create a new character for single-player, and official-server characters can only move to private or self-hosted servers, never back.
Do I need a Windtrap early?
No. It is a Steel-tier unlock that needs 75 power and a filter. The Literjon, stillsuit and Dew Reaper cover your first sessions at a fraction of the cost.
Should I turn dehydration down in single-player?
Only if it is the thing that would make you quit. Water also feeds crafting, so lowering the drain makes the survival loop easier without removing the water economy. Settings can be changed at any time, so test one change at a time.
Sources
- Funcom (Steam announcement). THE NEW DUNE: AWAKENING IS HERE (Update 1.5). September 17, 2026 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1172710/view/1844115010491805)
- Funcom. Dune: Awakening Console Release Patch Notes (1.5.3.0 to hotfix 1.5.3.7). September 17 to October 9, 2026 (https://duneawakening.com/news/dune-awakening-console-release-patch-notes/)
- Funcom (Steam announcement). Making the Single-Player Experience in Dune: Awakening. June 24, 2026 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1172710/view/1836506165546066)
- Funcom (Steam announcement). Communinet Signal #4, closed-beta statistics. December 20, 2024 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1172710/view/1786573930655936)
- Funcom. Public Test Client: Patch 1.5.15.0. September 30, 2026 (https://duneawakening.com/news/public-test-client-patch-1-5-15-0/)
- SteamCharts. Dune: Awakening player counts (Steam only), read October 14, 2026 (https://steamcharts.com/app/1172710)
- Steam. Dune: Awakening store page, price and user-review totals via the Steam store API, read October 14, 2026 (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1172710/Dune_Awakening/)
- Funcom via Game Developer. Over 189,000 Concurrent Players: Dune: Awakening Begins on The Golden Path. June 20, 2025 (https://www.gamedeveloper.com/press-release/over-189-000-concurrent-players-dune-awakening-begins-on-the-golden-path)
- PC Gamer. Best ways to get water in Dune: Awakening. Sean Martin, June 9, 2025 (https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/dune-awakening-water/)
- PC Gamer. Dune Awakening now has a solo mode for players put off by its MMO leanings. Rick Lane, September 2026 (https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/dune-awakening-now-has-a-solo-mode-for-players-put-off-by-its-mmo-leanings-while-funcom-has-adjusted-progression-so-you-dont-have-to-lose-things-anymore/)
- KeenGamer. Everything you need to know about Dune Awakening survival, combat, progression and more. June 3, 2025 (https://www.keengamer.com/articles/guides/everything-you-need-to-know-about-dune-awakening-survival-combat-progression-and-more)
- Method. Playing Solo in Dune Awakening’s Endgame (the Deep Desert). June 28, 2025 (https://www.method.gg/dune-awakening/playing-solo-in-dune-awakenings-endgame-the-deep-desert)
- Dune: Awakening Community Wiki. Research (Water Discipline tab) (https://awakening.wiki/Research)
- Dune: Awakening Community Wiki. Blood Purifier (https://awakening.wiki/Blood_Purifier)
- Dune: Awakening Community Wiki. Windtrap (https://awakening.wiki/Windtrap)
- Dune: Awakening Community Wiki. Dew Harvesting (https://awakening.wiki/Dew_Harvesting)
- Dune: Awakening Community Wiki. Deep Desert (https://awakening.wiki/Deep_Desert)
- Dune: Awakening Community Wiki. Sandworms (https://awakening.wiki/Sandworms)
- Dune: Awakening Community Wiki. Water From Blood (journey) (https://awakening.wiki/Water_From_Blood)
- Dune: Awakening Community Wiki. Literjon (https://awakening.wiki/Literjon)
- Dune: Awakening Community Wiki. Hajra Literjon Mk1 (https://awakening.wiki/Hajra_Literjon_Mk1)
- Dune: Awakening Community Wiki. Blood Extractors (https://awakening.wiki/Blood_Extractors)
- Dune: Awakening Community Wiki. Blood Sacks (https://awakening.wiki/Blood_Sacks)
- Dune: Awakening Community Wiki. Stillsuits (https://awakening.wiki/Stillsuits)
- Dune: Awakening Community Wiki. Status Effects (https://awakening.wiki/Status_Effects)
- Dune: Awakening Community Wiki. The First Trial of Aql (journey) (https://awakening.wiki/The_First_Trial_of_Aql)
- Dune: Awakening Community Wiki. Moving On (journey) (https://awakening.wiki/Moving_On)
- Dune: Awakening Community Wiki. Dew Reaper Mk2 (https://awakening.wiki/Dew_Reaper_Mk2)
- Dune: Awakening Community Wiki. Coriolis Storms (https://awakening.wiki/Coriolis_Storms)
I've been playing video games for over 20 years, spanning everything from early PC titles to modern open-world games. I started Switchblade Gaming to publish the kind of accurate, well-researched guides I always wanted to find — built on primary sources, tested in-game, and kept up to date after patches. I currently focus on Minecraft and Pokémon GO.